The English footballer has had an exceptional first season at Santiago Bernabeu since his 2023 move from Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham has surpassed the 20-goal mark, clinched the La Liga title, and propelled the Blancos to the Champions League semi-finals.
Throughout these achievements, he’s sported the No.5 jersey, yet he confessed to Movistar that he was oblivious to Real Madrid legend Zidane during his upbringing in Birmingham. Bellingham shared, “My father always wore a Real Madrid shirt around the house with ‘Zidane’ on the back, which is funny because, in a way, it has come full circle. He gave it to me when I arrived here in the summer. He always wore it and I always asked him: ‘Who is this guy you have on your shirt?’ And he always answered: ‘When you’re older, we’ll see him on YouTube…’ And now that I’m wearing No.5, it has ended up being a quite significant story. Really special to me.”
Reflecting on donning this iconic number upon joining Madrid, Bellingham expressed gratitude to Jesus Vallejo for relinquishing the No.5. He remarked, “I wanted to thank [Jesus] Vallejo for giving me the No.5. I asked him if he cared and he’s a great guy. I admire Zidane a lot and it’s a number that inspires me. I don’t want to be like him, because I’m different. I’m delighted to wear this number. It’s an honour.”
Zidane, a World Cup winner, hailed Bellingham’s performances this season, stating, “He’s an unbelievable player who does incredible things. You could have imagined what he was going to do, but he’s surpassed all the statistics with what he’s doing. Don’t forget that he’s only 20 years old. He arrived at Real Madrid with a lot of desire, a lot of goals and he is setting the bar very high. He’s just showing everyone what he is and it’s great to see him like that. I’m a big fan of his and now we want him to win trophies with Real Madrid. It’s everything he wanted for himself.”
Bellingham will return to action on Wednesday as Real Madrid faces Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, with the tie currently level at 2-2 on aggregate. Additionally, the dynamic midfielder anticipates representing England in Euro 2024 this summer.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham
EnglandThis season he played in total 9 times for 819 minutes for Champions League.
Jude Bellingham scored 4 goals for Real Madrid. He procured 4 assists. He received 2 yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 1st in Champions League. In the last match Real Madrid won 3-0 against Cádiz.
Real Madrid performance and stats
Real Madrid
Real Madrid is currently 1st in the Champions League with 18 points.
In the last 10 games, it has won 7 times and drawn 3 times. In its last match, Real Madrid drawn 2-2 against FC Bayern München.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 7.
Real Madrid will play the next match in Champions League against FC Bayern München on Wednesday 8th of May in Madrid. The prediction is Real Madrid winning the match.
